Children of Gallifrey
by WonderWoman13
Summary: A simple medical test reveals that Rose isn't just a simple human anymore.


_Author's Note: This and my other Doctor Who stories all exist as part of the same world - namely Pete's World after "Journey's End." In this world, Rose became friends with a certain Amelia Pond, an amature alien enthusiast and her husband, Dr. Rory Williams (I decided he got to be a doctor in this world). Really I just loved Amy and Rory too much to bring them into my little world, plus I've always been convinced that Rose and Amy would get on fabulously._

_As long as there's interest, I keep adding scenes to this little world of mine._

_Also anything in quotations that appears in italics is a thought. _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

The Doctor, or Dr. John Alonso Noble-Smith as he was now 'officially' called, stared at the inside of the fMRI machine trying very hard not to squirm. He knew these physical tests were all part of Torchwood protocol, but he really wished Rory hadn't insisted on doing this on a Friday afternoon. It had been another stressful week in the office as they oversaw negotiations between two planets and Rose and Amy were waiting for them at the pub. He had no idea how long he'd been laying there, but it felt like forever when he finally heard the machine wind down and start to move him out of the tube.

As soon as he was clear of the machine, he jumped off the platform and took his jacket from Rory who was standing there. "So, Dr. Williams, can we go now?"

Rory laughed. "Yes, Dr. Noble-Smith, I'm just going to glance at the results before we send them to the neurologist."

"So this is standard practice for Torchwood these days?"

"Yeah. We've discovered that although we differ physically in many ways with the extraterrestrials we encounter, the neurological differences are almost more pronounced. This is especially interesting to all of us at Torchwood because the life forms we encounter have already conquered space travel in a way that humans have not been able to. So, we've made it procedure to examine the brains and the brain activity of all the life forms we meet in order to discover what separates our minds from theirs." Rory sat down in front of a bay of screens and pressed a few buttons. "It's not my field, but it's terribly fascinating. Do you want to take a look?"

"Sure, I'd love to see the inner workings of my superior Time Lord brain."

Rory rolled his eyes. "It's a good thing you're a nice guy because otherwise you'd be a right smug bastard."

They both laughed as the Doctor settled himself next to Rory. Rory punched a couple of more keys and the screens lit up. The images of the Doctor's brain played across the screen for a second before Rory started talking. "As you can maybe see, externally your brain is identical to a human brain as most of your anatomy has been. But, what I can tell you by looking at this is that you have an incredible amount of activity in your frontal and parietal lobes. For various reasons this is where we believe intelligence my lie and by looking at yours I'd have to agree." The recording continued to play when all of a sudden at area started radiating a bright orange. "Now that is strange." Rory said leaning closer.

"What? What's strange? Does that not usually turn orange?"

"No." Rory ran the recording back and watched it again. "That's the precuneus. It does a lot of things, but there's also those who believe that if telepathy is possible the ability would at least partially be in the precuneus." He turned and looked seriously at the Doctor. "Time Lords are telepathic, yeah?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, so it would reason that this would light up on me being half Time Lord and all. What's so strange then?"

"John, I've seen this before. Here at Torchwood. The neurologist and I both thought it was a fluke, but it's almost identical."

There was a heavy pause. "Rory, who else had an overactive precuneus like me?"

"Rose."

The Doctor let that settle in for a moment and then his mind started racing with what this could mean for Rose.

"John, does that make any sense to you why Rose would also have telepathic abilities?"

He nodded numbly. "It does, but I need to see her right away. We've got to go."

Without asking any other questions, Rory quickly shut everything down and they headed for the pub in a silent flurry. He had never seen John with this look before, but he knew that it meant that whatever was happening was urgent and important.

* * *

"What do you think is taking them so long?" Amy whined over her beer. "Rory said it would be like twenty minutes."

Rose laughed "Knowing John, he probably wanted to admire the power of his superior Time Lord brain."

"He is awfully proud of the Time Lord brain of his."

The look on Rose's face softened. "I can't really blame him though. He was a full-fledge Time Lord - the last of his kind - for 900 years and now finds himself almost entirely human. Other than his faster than human metabolism his mind and memories are his last tie to his people. John works hard to make sure I know how happy he is here with me, but there are moments when I can tell how much he misses having two hearts and a respiratory bypass system - all those things that made him a child of Gallifrey."

Amy chewed on her chip thoughtfully. "John is always so full of life and laughter that I forget everything he's been through. He's a good man."

Rose sighed, "And that is hard on him; he's a man now, not a Time Lord."

"Yeah," Amy bumped her shoulder against Rose's, "but, he's got you and I can tell that's worth way more to him than having two hearts."

"Yeah, that's what he says too, but I wish I could find a way to give him back a little bit of Gallifrey."

"You'll find a way, but for now I think he'd be happy with a pint of lager." Amy cocked her head towards the door where the Doctor.

He glanced around the pub for a moment until he saw her. With a look of determination he walked over to her. "Rose, can I talk to you for a moment? Alone?"

She sat down her pint. "Sure, Doctor. I think the back patio is open."

Without another word, Rose took his hand and followed him into the evening air.

Once they had stepped away from the table, Rory sat down at the table silently and took a large swig from the lager Amy had waiting for him.

"Do I want to know what's going on there? Because that look did not suggest that John is whisking her off for a quick snog at the pub. Did you find something terrible on the MRI? Does he have brain cancer or a tumor or something?"

"Amy, slow down." Rory put a gentle hand on her knee. "John is fine, but I think he got some rather surprising news today."

"Good news or bad news?"

"That I don't know."

* * *

Once he'd carefully closed the door behind them, the Doctor turned to Rose. She stood there in the fading autumn light, watching him with equal parts concern and curiosity. His single heart thumped harder in his chest as he examined her wondering if Rory's test had been accurate and if his own theory was correct. He wanted to explain his crazy hope to Rose, but couldn't wait another moment.

"Do you trust me?"

Rose gave him a small smile. "You know the answer to that."

He grinned too, realizing what a silly question that had been. "Alright then. Close your eyes and clear your mind as best you can." She complied, her face turned up towards him. Swallowing roughly, he placed his fingers on her temples and took a shaky breath.

_"Rose, can you hear me?"_

"Yeah, Doctor, I can hear you? Why wouldn't I be able to?"

_"Open your eyes."_

Her eyes opened and she smiled up him, confused.

Without moving his lips, he looked at her seriously. _"Because I'm not speaking to you in the strictest sense of the word."_

"You're still telepathic! That's brilliant!" Rose exclaimed. "This could come in handy."

"There's more, Rose." He dropped his fingers from her temples and lifted her hands to his temples. "I think you might be too."

"What? How?"

He pressed her fingers to his temples. "I'll explain in a second, but I need to test this. Now again just clear your mind and think a sentence at me."

He closed his eyes and tried to calm his beating heart and clear his spinning mind. He couldn't hear anything for a moment and his hopes started to deflate when he felt a shy presence enter his mind and then he heard it.

"_Roses are red, the Tardis is blue, and I love you."_

The Doctor's eyes immediately popped open and he grabbed Rose's hands in his. "Oh my god, this is fantastic! But really that bit of poetry was sort of rubbish."

Rose looked at him nervously. "So, I'm telepathic?"

He grinned widely at her. "You most definitely are, Rose Tyler!" He just stood there grinning for a moment when he felt a wave of confusion wash over him. He looked at Rose and where their hands were still clasped. _"Rose, what's wrong?"_

"Nothing this is just a lot to take in."

She looked up at him and gave him a confused smile. He softly down at smiled down at her and she felt an overwhelming sense of concern surround her. Rose looked down at their hands. _"We're still connected aren't we?"_

_"Yeah, you actually have quite a strong telepathic ability. Once we've created a connection it will remain until one of us breaks it. Overtime we may not even need to be in physical contact for it to work."_

She took a deep breath. _"How is this possible?"_

The Doctor decided that it might be easier for Rose if he spoke out loud. "You looked into the heart of the Tardis, Rose, and for a time you held the Time Vortex in your mind. I thought I'd removed all of it, but apparently I missed a bit and overtime it has caused you to evolve. Time Lords came into existence because of their proximity to the Time Vortex and no one has been closer to it than you, Rose Tyler. Essentially, the Time Vortex made you part Time Lord; still human, but Time Lord nonetheless."

"So, I'm like you now; part human, part Time Lord?"

"Yes, Rose. I should have seen it earlier, but I never imagined it possible. Have you felt different since then or since you came to this world?"

She was quiet for a moment, but then he felt a sense of realization. "Yeah, I have. I never even passed my A-Levels before I started traveling with you, but when I came here and started working for Torchwood I was able to learn things like Astrophysics, Thermodynamics, and Quantum theory in order to make the Dimension Cannon work. I was so focused on finding you that I didn't even question it, but all of that should have been way beyond me," she laughed, "except now I've got me a superior Time Lord brain."

"So, you're okay with this?" he asked gently.

_"John," _she chided, _"How could I be upset about being more like you? Plus, being telepathic is pretty wizard."_

He laughed at pulled Rose into his arms and kissed her on the forehead before kissing her soundly on the lips. As his lips moved against her, Rose could feel his love and adoration flow through her mind and she wondered if he could feel her love in his mind.

_"Oh, yes," _his mind whispered without breaking the kiss.

Rose continued to kiss him, awash in his love. He always kissed her with so much passion, but now she could feel her mind wrapped in its warmth. She felt so much love for this man and she felt like her heart overflowing with the thought that he could feel how much love she truly felt for him. The whole experience was completely overwhelming. She never wanted it to end.

Finally, she needed to breath so she broke away from his lips, but kept her forehead pressed to his. _"I could definitely get used to this."_

The Doctor laughed, his eyes still closed. _"Being telepathic definitely has it's benefits."_

She was quiet for a moment. _"Like the traditional Gallifreyan wedding ceremony?"_

The Doctor jumped away from Rose breaking all physical contact and looked down at the floor.

"John, is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry, Rose. I'm not used to having to guard my thoughts, so that just floated to the top. You shouldn't have heard that. I'm very sorry."

"Why?"

He finally looked up at her. "I just don't want to put that kind of pressure on you. Everything between us is still new and I don't want to push us towards anything we're not ready for."

Rose carefully stepped toward him and took his hand. "You're right, John, we're not ready for that, but really I'd be hurt if that wasn't in your thoughts even just a little."

All at once a vision flashed across his mind. Him standing nervously next to a preacher; Rose in a simple white dress; the Tyler estate gardens decked out in daisies; and of a pair of rings. _"I have thoughts like that too. It's hard not to when you love someone as much as I love you."_

The Doctor squeezed her hand and reveled in the feeling of her mind so close to his. Usually sharing a link like this one could be overwhelming, but standing there with Rose he wanted to always be this close to her. _"I love you too, Rose Tyler. That's why I rushed over here. If you were telepathic, I could marry you like a child of Gallifrey. I never wanted to share myself with someone in that way until I met you and then I never dreamed it would be possible." _He laughed. _"But 'impossible' doesn't mean anything to you, does it?" _

Rose gave him a cheeky smile. _"I laugh in the face of impossible." _"Now come on," she said aloud, "we should get back in there before Amy and Rory assume the worse."

"Fine, but there is one more thing before we go back." With that he pulled Rose close to him once more and kissed her softly. _"You are and continue to be fantastic."_

Rose, overwhelmed by the power of the Doctor's words, that she was speechless for a moment. Then deciding words weren't enough, she closed her eyes and just felt all her love for this man and the adventures they had shared together and the adventures still to come. It hit the Doctor like a tidal wave, leaving him breathless and bringing tears to his eyes. It subsided after a moment and then he opened his eyes to find Rose smiling at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

He cleared his throat in attempts to find his voice. "I must say, Rose Tyler, you are catching on quite quickly with your new found abilities. Now let's get back in there before Amy and Rory assume we're out here snogging like a couple of teenagers."

He stepped toward the door when Rose tugged on his hand, pulling him back against her. Without a thought, he wrapped his arms around her as she kissed him fiercely. _"If that's what they'll assume, I see no reason to disappoint them."_


End file.
